''Wings'' is a 1978 play by American playwright

Arthur Kopit Arthur Lee Kopit (' Koenig; May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for '' Indians'' and '' Wings''. He was also nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Play for ''Indians'' (1970) a ...

. Originating as a radio play, it was later adapted for stage and screen. In 1976, Kopit was commissioned to write an original radio play by the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

drama project ''

Earplay ''Earplay'' was the longest-running of the formal series of radio drama anthologies on National Public Radio, produced by WHA in Madison, Wisconsin and heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scripts written ...

''. Just prior, his father suffered a debilitating stroke, which inspired Kopit to write the play about the language disorder and psychological perspective of a stroke victim. The female character of the play is an amalgam of two women who were both patients at the rehab center that cared for his father.

Production history

The first professional stage production of ''Wings'' opened at the

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stude ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

on March 3, 1978, with

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate Logan (née C ...

as Emily Stilson, and Marianne Owen as Amy. The Yale Rep Theatre cast and crew was as follows: *Emily Stilson -

*Amy - Marianne Owen *Doctors - Geoffrey Pierson, Roy Steinberg *Nurses - Caris Corfman, Carol Ostrow *Billy - Richard Grusin *Mr. Brownstein -

Ira Bernstein Ira Bernstein (b. Malverne, New York, 1959) is a dancer and teacher in the United States who specializes in traditional American dance forms such as Appalachian-style clogging, flatfoot dancing, tap dance, and step dancing. He is considered an au ...

*Mrs. Timmins -

Betty Pelzer Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beatr ...

*Directed by

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

*Designed by Andrew Jackness *Costumes by Jeanne Button *Lighting by

Tom Schraeder Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

*Sound by

Tom Voegeli Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

*Music by

Herb Pilhofer In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

''Wings'' opened at the Off-Broadway New York Shakespeare Festival Public/ Newman Theater, presented by

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created ...

, on June 21, 1978 for a limited run to July 2, 1978. This was the Yale Rep production with the same cast and creatives.Eder, Richard
"Theater: ‘Wings’ By the Yale Rep"
''The New York Times'', June 22, 1978" 'Wings' 1978"
lortel.org, retrieved January 1, 2018 ''Wings'' opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Lyceum Theatre on January 28, 1979 and closed on May 5, 1979 after 113 performances and 6 previews." 'Wings' Broadway"
Playbill, retrieved January 1, 2018 The cast and crew was as follows: *Emily Stilson - Constance Cummings *Amy - Mary-Joan Negro *Doctors - Roy Steinberg,

Ross Petty Ross Petty (born August 29, 1946) is a Canadian actor and theatre producer. He is best known for his eponymous production company, which staged what were promoted as "family musical" theatre productions in the British pantomime tradition in Toront ...

*Nurses -

Gina Franz Gina or GINA or ''variation'' may refer to: Gina Gina may refer to: * Gina (given name), multiple individuals * Gina (Canaan), a town in ancient Canaan * Arihant (Jainism), also called gina, a term for a human who has conquered his or her inner p ...

, Mary Michele Rutherfurd *Billy -

James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as Marshall Strickland in ''Back to the Future Part ...

*Mr. Brownstein - Carl Don *Mrs. Timmins - Betty Pelzer *Directed by John Madden *Designed by Andrew Jackness *Costumes by Jeanne Button *Lighting by Tom Schraeder *Sound by Tom Voegeli *Music by Herb Pilhofer It was filmed for U.S. television in 1983, starring

and Mary-Joan Negro.

Themes

Richard Eder wrote in ''The New York Times'': "''Wings'' is a remarkable attempt to dramatize the agony of a stroke victim. It presents mind whose language has been knocked out from under it; one that struggles blindly, with alternating grace and terror, to regain its footing." Michael Billington wrote: "...this is a play about language – about Emily’s progress from a jumbled, disordered speech to one that achieves a wondrous coherence."

Awards and recognition

*1979 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play, Cummings, winner *1979 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play, nominee *1979 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play, nominee *1979 Obie Award, Performance, Cummings, winner *1979

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

Play, nominee *1979 Tony Award Actress in a Play, Cummings, winner *1979 Tony Award Featured Actress in a Play, Mary-Joan Negro, nominee * 1979 Selection, The Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook, ''The Best Plays of 1978-1979''

Adaptations

The play was adapted into a musical of the same name with music by Jeffrey Lunden and book and lyrics by Arthur Perlman, which premiered at Chicago's

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the la ...

in October 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wings (Play) Plays by Arthur Kopit 1978 plays